Naver "Margin Rate 20%", Kakao "Focus on B2C"... AI Infrastructure Paths Diverge

Naver (NAVER) and Kakao offered different solutions to the same challenge. While AI infrastructure projects face the issue of taking a long time to recover initial investments, Naver chose "direct confrontation," while Kakao opted for "pursuing practical benefits." As a result, Kakao recorded its highest-ever revenue and operating profit in the second quarter of this year.

Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon stated during the Q2 earnings announcement conference call on the 7th that "the global AI computing demand will continue to grow due to the spread of generative AI, industry-wide AX (AI transformation), and AI agents." She added, "Although there are concerns that usage may decline with the emergence of low-cost, high-efficiency models, as unit computation costs decrease, AX and AI agents will likely expand further, driving up overall computation demand."

Naver expects a 20% margin rate from its AI factory jointly built with NVIDIA. Kim Hee-cheol, Naver's Chief Financial Officer (CFO), said, "The margin rate of the AI factory may be low in the early stages, but we expect it to reach at least double digits over the medium to long term."

This statement aims to dispel concerns about excessive investment in AI infrastructure. In Q2 this year, Naver reported revenue of 3.3888 trillion won, a 16.2% increase compared to the same period last year. However, its operating profit was 520.3 billion won, a 0.2% decrease from the same period last year, due to massive investments in AI infrastructure.

Naver introduced a self-help measure to extend the depreciation period of GPUs (graphics processing units) from five years to six years. This delays annual cost recognition by approximately 100 billion won. While actual cash outflows remain unchanged, invoices are now spread over a longer period. CFO Kim explained, "Long-term data analysis showed that the actual average usage period is longer than the depreciation period, so we adjusted accordingly."

In contrast, Kakao CEO Jeong Shin-a stated during the Q2 earnings announcement conference call on the 6th that "the AI data center (DC) business does not offer sufficiently high future ROI (return on investment) relative to the financial burden it entails." She added, "Kakao will focus on developing B2C (business-to-consumer) AI services, which are its core strength."

Their perspectives on the market also differed. Jeong (CEO) analyzed that "given the rapid generational shifts in hardware equipment such as GPUs and AI servers, along with competitive supply expansion, high profitability due to supply-demand imbalances is unlikely to persist for a long time."

The Q2 results this year, which recorded the highest-ever quarterly revenue and operating profit, validate Jeong (CEO)'s "B2C focus strategy." Kakao reported consolidated revenue of 2.985 trillion won and an operating profit of 277 billion won in Q2, representing increases of 9.4% and 35.9%, respectively, compared to the same period last year. Although Kakao Games, once considered a burden, was sold off, the platform segment—comprising Tokbiz, Commerce, and Other Platforms (Mobility, Payment)—contributed significantly with revenue reaching 1.2303 trillion won, a 17% increase from the previous year.

Kakao proposed "vertical partnerships" as an alternative. The plan involves connecting various partners with agentic AI to deliver differentiated experiences. The first partner is Coupang Eats. Kakao will begin "A2A" (Agent-to-Agent) collaboration by integrating Coupang Eats into "Kanana in KakaoTalk." This allows the on-device AI model within chat rooms to understand users' ordering intentions based on conversation context and recommend optimal menus tailored to their preferences. Users can complete orders and payments through Coupang Eats without leaving the chat room.